Justify

by Margaret Ransom A quiet week for the top-three stallions battling it out to earn the crown as 2022 leading first-crop sire--Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), Good Magic (Curlin) and Justify (Scat Daddy)--has led to a busy pre-Christmas week with Justify and Good Magic each picking up a winner and all three having multiple runners both here in the U.S. and abroad over the next two days heading into the quiet holiday weekend. Justify scored first on Wednesday with his daughter Diamondsareforever breaking her maiden at first asking at Dundalk in...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 8th-FG, $50K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 5:45 p.m. Purchased for $650,000 out of the OBS April Sale after a sharp :9.4 breeze, ROXY'S BALL (Bolt d'Oro) was the most expensive filly and the second-most expensive overall by her freshman sire (by Medaglia d'Oro) from the sale. From a heavily-Australian influenced family, her third dam produced MG1SW Toledo (Aus) (At Talaq). Closer up, her own dam is a multiple stakes winner and multiple graded-stakes placed in her native Australia before being imported in 2018. Conditioned by...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 9th-TAM, $27K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 4:33 p.m. Facing a full field of 13 from the inside gate, JUST THE SKY (Justify), a homebred for Eurowest Bloodstock with her freshman sire's (by Scat Daddy) connections John Gunther also involved, stretches out over the grass for trainer Chad Brown. Out of a half-sister to MGSW & MGISP Honorable Duty (Distorted Humor), Just the Sky traces back to broodmare of the year Toussaud (El Gran Senor), herself the dam of MGISW & late sire Emire Maker...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Observations features a Justify filly out of G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine Diamondsandrubies (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). 17.45 Dundalk, Cond, €17,500, 2yo, 8f (AWT) Roisin Henry's unraced DIAMONDSAREFOREVER (IRE) (Justify) is a daughter of G1 Pretty Polly S. victrix Diamondsandrubies (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and thus a half-sister...

by Margaret Ransom A one-two finish from Communication Memo and Two Rocket in Friday's 6th race at Oaklawn Park and their combined earnings of $72,000 helped Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) extend his lead over Good Magic (Curlin) and Justify (Scat Daddy) in the first-year stallion earnings race heading into the weekend. Not willing to wave the white flag just yet, Good Magic's Almurtajiz, a $290,635 ARQMAY purchase earlier this year, finished second in the G3 Ministry of National Guard Cup at Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Friday and picked up...

by Margaret Ransom It's been a quiet week so far for the top stallions brawling it out to claim the title of 2022's leading first-crop sire, but the numbers for all three are likely to move with each having a number of runners over the next few days before the quiet of the Christmas holiday week sets in. On Thursday, Bolt d'Oro's (Medaglia d'Oro) daughter Bullock captured a $25,000 maiden claiming event at Gulfstream Park by a length and picked up a check for $28,400. In doing so, the filly...

by Margaret Ransom It was a busy weekend for one of the top three stallions battling it out for the crown as the best first-crop sire of 2022 as Justify was represented by a pair of winners and another two to hit the board, leaving Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) and Good Magic (Curlin) winless from just a single runner each. Justify's two winners on American soil both came on Sunday and started with Don Alberto Stable's homebred Alpha Bella, who graduated with a hard-fought victory by a head at Gulfstream...

First-crop leading earner Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) continues to stride forward. Atop TDN's board, the sire had a half-dozen chances on Friday to extend his lead over chasers Good Magic (Curlin) and Justify (Scat Daddy). Named for a Spanish golfing legend, 2-year-old colt Olazabal ratcheted up the pressure with a tee-to-green victory in the fifth race at Turfway Park. Looking to move up in the standings, Justify found the rough when his filly Prove My Love did not make the cut in the race prior as an also-eligible. Across the...

by Margaret Ransom Since neither of the top three first-crop sires battling it out to win the 2022 division title had a runner on Thursday, their numbers remain unchanged. The focus now turns to a busy Friday with Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) in a solid position to pull away from both Justify (Scat Daddy) and Good Magic (Curlin) with six runners total--three in the fifth race at Turfway Park, two in the sixth at Woodbine and another at Oaklawn Park. Good Magic's lone runner on Friday--Zia Park Juvenile S. winner...

by Margaret Ransom Only Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) was represented by any runners on Wednesday and of the two to make the gate, one successfully reached the winner's circle and helped pad his sire's earnings total lead over rivals Justify and Good Magic. Halfway around the world, Tempesta d'Oro received a ground-saving trip at Abu Dhabi and slipped through a hole up the rail to win a one-mile Msw turf test going away in 1:38.67. He banked 48,000 Dirham ($13,070) bringing his sire's total to $2,481,778 At Turfway Park on...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin and Nakayama Racecourses. While much of the local focus will be on the 14 runners entered across the four races that comprise the Longines Hong Kong International Races, Sunday's action at home includes the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies: Saturday,...

A three-horse match race for the 2022 first-crop sire crown is on! The TDN will continue to publish our earnings list on a nightly basis with data streaming in for Northern Hemisphere-born foals from stallions standing in North America. Note that Japanese earnings are added every Sunday night, and there may be delayed reporting from other countries, which could postpone the final results in a very tight race into early January. We will also be providing a preview of 2-year-olds entered the next day in North America and beyond. Let...